This week, for the 237th time, our country tis of thee will celebrate its Miss Independence. Which means that this week, for the fourth time, our blog will celebrate the arrival of Cruel Summer, our annual heartbreak of a mixtape. Tradition. Times have changed since our 2010, 2011, and 2012 installments. Namely, nobody releases free MP3s anymore! I mean, some people do, but the best tracks tend to be stream-only. So to harness the highest potential of these transitional times, this year the primary format for Cruel Summer is a 42-track Soundcloud, for a soundtrack that’s just over 3 hours, long enough to complement your BBQ dance party and also the aggro/bittersweet/romantic moodswings you’ll experience later in the day due to partying in the sun. (If you like downloads, there’s something for you, too: an 18-track downloadable zip of the mix tracks that are available as legal MP3s. For the full experience, though, it’s Soundcloud.) Love to my cohorts Scott, Tom, Michael, and Claire, whose nominations make this year’s mixtape the most democratic we’ve seen to date. How fitting. And as always, Cruel Summer is entirely free and legal. Just like America.

Happy 4th, ch’all.

It’s here:

Here’s the clickable tracklist:

01 MIA – “Bring The Noize”
02 Toro & Moi – “Say That”
03 Disclosure – “When A Fire Starts To Burn”
04 Run The Jewels – “Get It”
05 Migos – “Versace”
06 Drake – “The Motion” (Feat. Sampha)
07 Beyoncé – “Bow Down / I Been On”
08 Austra – “Painful Like”
09 Hudson Mohawke – “Pleasure”
10 Danny Brown – “Express Yourself”
11 Todd Terje – “Strandbar”
12 Thundercat – “Oh Sheit It’s X”
13 Weekend – “It’s Alright”
14 Ryan Hemsworth – “Perfectly”
15 Ellery James Roberts – “Kerou’s Lament”
16 Kirin J Callinan – “Love Delay”
17 Smith Westerns – “Varsity”
18 Chvrches – “Gun”
19 Mikal Cronin – “Shout It Out”
20 Fat Tony – “Hood Party” (Feat. Kool AD & Despot)
21 Milk Music – “Cruising With God”
22 Pity Sex – “Wind Up”
23 Iceage – “Coalition”
24 Pissed Jeans – “Cathouse”
25 Guided By Voices – “Flunky Minnows”
26 Deafheaven – “Dream House”
27 Katie Got Bandz – “Pop Out” (Feat. King Louie)
28 Mirage – “Let’s Kiss”
29 Vampire Weekend – “Ya Hey”
30 Say Lou Lou – “Fool On Me” (Feat. Chet Faker)
31 Wampire – “Trains”
32 Kurt Vile – “Wakin On A Pretty Day”
33 Diarrhea Planet – “Kids”
34 Mariah Carey – “#Beautiful” (Feat. Miguel)
35 Ciara – “Body Party” (Feat. Future)
36 Empire Of The Sun – “I’ll Be Around”
37 Pure Bathing Culture – “Pendulum”
38 Majical Cloudz – “Childhood’s End”
39 Shlohmo – “Bo Peep (Do U Right)” (Feat. Jeremih)
40 Youth Lagoon – “Dropla”
41 Mark McGuire – “In Search Of The Miraculous”
42 Dinosaur Jr – “Entertainment” (Phoenix Cover)

For those of you who prefer to download your freedom:

Cruel Summer 2013 Vol. 1 (zip, 66.4MB)
Cruel Summer 2013 Vol. 2 (zip, 96.1MB)

TRACKLIST:
01 Run The Jewels – “Get It”
02 Migos – “Versace”
03 Fat Tony – “Hood Party” (Feat. Kool AD & Despot)
04 Drake – “The Motion” (Feat. Sampha)
05 Hudson Mohawke – “Pleasure”
06 Iceage – “Coalition”
07 Pissed Jeans – “Cathouse”
08 Guided By Voices – “Flunky Minnows”
09 Deafheaven – “Dream House”
10 DJ Mustard – “Burn Rubber”
11 Katie Got Bandz – “Pop Out” (Feat. King Louie)[Prod. BlockOnDaTrakk]
12 Mirage – “Let’s Kiss”
13 Wampire – “Trains”
14 Kurt Vile – “Wakin On A Pretty Day”
15 Pure Bathing Culture – “Pendulum”
16 Majical Cloudz – “Childhood’s End”
17 Shlohmo – “Bo Peep (Do U Right)” (Feat. Jeremih)
18 Youth Lagoon – “Dropla”
19 Dinosaur Jr – “Entertainment” (Phoenix Cover)